A New Year’s Resolution in Three Easy Steps- Home Edition

We all do it. From time to time, we all procrastinate on our home maintenance and upkeep. What if this year was different? We propose that all those reading this article create an action plan, noting what maintenance and upgrades their home 1) needs most, 2) probably should have, and 3) would be nice to have. Once you’ve made your list and checked it twice, create an action plan for the year (because unfortunately Santa cannot fix that leaky insulation). By clearly envisioning the things that you would like to accomplish, and allocating time and resources to do so, they are more likely to get done. And, your house will thank you. So without further ado, here is your guide to creating a New Year’s Resolution – Home Edition:

Step 1: Make your List

“If You Think Education Is Expensive, Try Ignorance” -Derek Bok

Houses are complicated structures with multiple systems, each of which needs some form of maintenance over time. Before making your list of repairs and maintenance that you home requires, we suggest looking over this maintenance checklist for monthly and seasonal home maintenance.

While writing the list, try to estimate the cost and time required for each project. For those projects that you’re most seriously considering, you may want to get bids to get more accurate estimates. This will help you with the planning phase.

Step 2: Make a Plan

“Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail” – Allen Lakein

First thing’s first, how much money are you prepared to spend on home maintenance, repair, and renovations this year? By coming up with a ballpark number from the beginning, you’ll be better able to choose which projects to focus on.

Now, using the project-price estimates from Step 1, choose the highest priority projects first, and then proceed down your list until you’ve used up your budget.

Now that you’ve chosen which projects you’ll focus on, break up projects into those that are “DIY” (do it yourself) and those that you will need to hire a specialist for. For the DIY projects, decide which weekends or Holidays you’d like to dedicate to which projects and mark those days off on your calendar.

For the larger projects, or those that require the help of a specialist, start making calls and determining their availability. When you call, have a few months in mind that would be best to get the projects completed in. Pencil these projects into your calendar, and if availability is limited, book a time to complete the work.

Step 3: Work Your Plan

Once you’ve organized your home to-do’s into an easy to reference list, filtered out the most important items, and created a plan, all that is left is to execute.

If life events come up and get in the way of fulfilling a project, be sure to reschedule some time to get it done in the future.

Most importantly, each time you complete an item off your list, whether it be big or small, know that you are giving yourself peace of mind in the future, knowing that your home has been well cared for.

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